Abstract

A. Maghchiche¹, A. Haouam² and B. immirzi³

The use of polymers as soil-stabilizer additive has expanded significantly in agricultural use to control soil degradation, desertification and to improve arid and semi arid soils. This research was conducted to determine the effects of different synthetic polymers and biopolymers at low concentration (0.03 %-1%) at arid and semi arid soil of North Africa.Polystyrene (PS), Polyacrylamide (PAM); Cellulose and the mixture of PAM and PS were characterized by viscosity, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray Diffractometry, thermal analysis (TG and DSC) and Scanning electron micrographs (SEM). The results showed that composites from polymers: PAM and PS with Cellulose in soil, could improve better, soil physical proprieties and augment water retention at arid soils compared with application of any other polymers at the same concentrations.This work can help to improve the productivity of arid and semi arid soils by using low concentration of biopolymers from plant fibers and polymers from synthetic plastics compounds or the wastes of plastic industry, aiming the increase of water holding capacity and also to improve physical properties of soils by binding soils particles together. The reduction of the water loss; also to make valuable wastes of plastic industry and renewable organic fibers to protect environment.

Composites; Polymer; Polyacrylamide; Polystyrene; Arid and semi arid Regions; Cellulose; Biopolymers; Wastes. Abbreviations; (PAM) - PolyAcrylamide; (Cell)- Cellulose; (PS)- Polystyrene; (V/V)- volume to volume

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